Directory of German Pipe Brands (2/2)

The Directory of German Pipe Brands is an attempt to gather the scattered record of German pipe production in one place; this page holds the second part of the two-part directory, covering eight entries from Volker Bier to Wunderlich. Pipe making in Germany was never anchored to a single center: large factories and filter manufacturers worked alongside one-man workshops in small towns. The entries below are brief and factual; brands for which only a name is on record are kept in the list, with the gaps clearly noted.

Brands

• Volker Bier — The letters this German maker uses to mark quality tiers come from the initials of the heavy metal bands he listened to at the bench. The letters are ranked by surface: JP covers pipes fully or partly rusticated, IR smooth surfaces that may carry small spots, RA pipes with pronounced grain but a few flaws, and MA those with the cleanest, flaw-free grain. IE and BR fall outside this ranking; they are not tiers but line names, distinguishing pipes with bamboo shanks from those with bog oak stummels, respectively. Bier says the letters describe appearance only, and that there is no difference in workmanship between JP and MA. The logic of the distinction matches the framework laid out in the surface finishes entry.

• Volz — The pipes of Reinhardt Volz, working in the Inheiden district of Hungen in Hesse, are recorded under this name. No record exists on the nature of the production.

• Waber — Franz E. Waber's workshop in Augsburg produced handmade pipes. Neither the workshop's shape repertoire nor the years it was active are documented.

• Werner Bürmann — The business known as Pfeifenlädchen is run by Werner Bürmann in Besse, part of Edermünde in northern Hesse. Records go no further than the maker's name and address.

• White Elephant — Founded by Robert Maderholz in the Franconian town of Ettenstatt, the firm is today known mainly for pipe filters and pipe cleaners; it is the only company in Germany producing these cleaners, and one of three across all of Europe. Yet the business began at the pipe bench: Maderholz made pipes from 1945 to 1984, after which the firm shifted first to filter production and then to cleaners. Years later, pipes reentered the product line as well.

• Wilhelm — The work of self-taught maker Gerhard Wilhelm consists of freehand pipes with vulcanite mouthpieces, made either for a 9 mm filter or without one. He uses a stamp bearing the letter W as his signature.

• Wolsdorff — A passion for cigars led Hamburg merchant Emil Karl Ferdinand Wolsdorff to open a shop on Georgsplatz on May 7, 1907. His plan had two prongs: a line of own-brand goods made for him by quality manufacturers in Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, and a network of branches spanning major cities. This network, which eventually spread nationwide, sold pipes, cigars, and tobacco; records put the store count at around one hundred seventy. Wolsdorff Tobacco GmbH passed in 1997 to Oettinger Imex AG, today known as Oettinger Davidoff AG.

• Wunderlich — Ralf E. Wunderlich's workshop in Weiterstadt is called Atelier REW. What shapes the maker worked in and in which years are not on record.